Business | Property

Design for residential towers finalised

Mohammad Bin Zayed City to accommodate 85,000 with construction starting in four months.

By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter

Published: 23:10 April 19, 2009

Abu Dhabi: The design of the residential towers in Mohammad Bin Zayed City in Abu Dhabi which will accommodate about 85,000 residents on completion, has been finalised, an official told Gulf News at Cityscape on Sunday.

" You can say stage one has been completed because we have finalised the design of 349 residential towers which will have about 12,000 residential units to be completed in 2012," said Fadhl Al Braiki, Head of Planning and Coordination in the Town Planning Section of Abu Dhabi Municipality.

"We expect that we will get the building permits from the municipality for the construction within four months," he said.

The authorities had already announced that the project will ease the housing shortage in the capital as it targets middle income groups. "The project is just 15 to 20 kilometres away from the city, a 20-minute drive [depending on the traffic, to any of the five sectors of development]," Al Braiki said.

This development will have a gross built-up area of about 5.8 million square metres with related infrastructure, landscaping and community amenities. The Department of Municipal Affairs assumes the role of Principal Developer and Approving Authority, guiding the development with a carefully structured plan, relying on KEO International Consultants as the designated programme manager.

The highest tower will have 22 floors and the lowest will have 12 floors. Each tower costing Dh70 million will have underground parking, the official said.

"There will be shops and other commercial establishments on the ground floors of the towers which will supplement the needs of the residents."

The next stage is designing the other services including utilities, Al Braiki said. Building the utility services like cooking gas, district cooling and infrastructure facilities like roads, gardens and parks is progressing, he said. "Construction of towers and infrastructure projects will be completed simultaneously"

Highlights of the project include easing the housing crisis in the capital. The project is targeted at middle income groups. Each tower will have underground parking and it is about 15 to 20 kilometres from the city - about 20 minutes' drive depending on traffic.